Apparatus for making electrical connecters



Dec. 15, 1931. E. POOLE 1,836,503

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTER S Filed Oct. 9. 1929 v s'shets-sneet 1 Z era .25: P00]:

Dec. 15, 1931.

L E. POOLE APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTERS Filed Oct. 9. 1929 5 $heets-$heet 2 Dec. 15, 1931. L. E POO LE APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTERS Filed Oct 9, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 15, 1931. L, PQQLE 1,836,503

' APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTERS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 De. 15, 1931. POQLE 1,836,503

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTERS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jwombv Penman. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES [PATENT- orr ca LOBA E. POOLE, OI ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOB T mum-am GOBPORATION, OF

ANDERSON, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE I mmrns iron. mme nnnc'rmcar. comers-as Application filed October 9, 1929. Serial No. 398,524.

This invention relates to apparatus for making electrical connecters and more especially, the type of conuecter which comprises a piece of flexible wire attached to one or more terminal clips.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a machine of simple and durable construction for making the kind of electrical connecters referred to. In the presmf ent invention this object is accomplished by providing means for feeding the terminal clip against a piece of flexible wire means for fastening the clip to the wire, an means for cutting off a piece of the wire with clip ui attached. Preferably, the machine includes means for feeding the wire with attached clip from the fastening means to the cutting means and for moving adjacent the-fastening means the unattached clip which had been so fedto a position against the wire. The present machine provldes for making electrical connecters having a terminal clip attached at one. end only to a piece of wire or havmg a terininal clip attached at each end of the 1 25 wire. When a connecter of the latter type is required two terminal clips are attached in contiguous relation to the mm and are fed relative to the cutting means so that the wire necter-made by the present machine.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of a machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-'4-of Fig. 3 and is drawn to a larger scale thah Fi .3.

i 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 .of Fig. 4.

50 I Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 Further objects and advantages of the bers in retracted osition..

of Fig. and shows the clip attaching meim Fig.7 is a sectional view on the of Fig. 4 and shows the clip attaching'means fully advanced toward the work.

Fig. 8 isv a fragmentary sectional view on.

the line 88 of Fig. 6. V

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 99 of ig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a reciprocating member includedin the feeding mechanism. F 1g. 12 is a sectional viewtaken on the line -1212 of Fig. 11;

-Fig. 13 is a front elevation of a guide block for supportlng movable parts of the means for attaching the terminal clips to the wire.

Fig. 14 is. a view looking in the direction of arrow 14 in Fig. 13.

Fig.15 is a plan view of the base block of the apparatus? Fig. 16 is a'side elevation looking in the direction of arrow 16 in Fig. 15. Figs. 17 and 18 are sectional views taken respectively on the-lines 17-17 and 18-18 of Fig. 152- Means-for attaching clips to wire The present machine com rises mechanisms adapted to be operate by a punch press such as shown in Fig.v 3.' Thepress comprises a'fraliie 20. su'pportinga platform 21 and a'main shaft 22 which carries an eccentric 23 connected by a'strap 24 with a connecting rod 25 hingedly connected at 26 with a vertically.reciprocating punch press cross head 27. The head 27 carries a block 28 to which a shear blade 29 is secured by screws 30. Two cam bars 31 are pivotally attached to the block 28 by pins 32 and are provided with curved camming surfaces 33 which engage forming bars 34 and cause them to move in downwardly converging direction through inclined guiding channels 35 -(see Figs. 13 and 14) provided in a guide block member 36 which is attached by screws 37 to a base block 38 which is secured in any suitable manner to the platform 21. The screws 37' pass through plane holes 39 (see Figs. 15 to 18) in base block 38 and are screwed into tap holes 40 in the guide block .36. The forming bars 34 are retained in x said screwsbeing threaded into tap holes 43 their guiding channels 35 by plate 41 attached by screws 42. to the guide block 36,

in block 36. The plate 41 is' accurately located with respect to the block 36 by dowel pins 44 which pass through holes 45 in block 36. The plate 41 -retains also the cam bars 3l-within the, uide chaiinels 46 provided for them by the lock.3'6." In order to adjust or vary the limit to which the bars 34 movewhen approaching the work, the cam bars 31 are adjustable about their pivot ins 32v lower ends attached to studs 62 which pass through slot 63 in plate 41 and which are attached to'theforming bars 34.

The work operated upon by the forming.

bars 34 is shown more particularl in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises: a wire and two similar J-shaped terminal clip pieces A and B which are first placed against the ends of the wire as shown at A and B in Fig. 4 and are fastened to the wire by squeezing the loop of the'terminal clip around the w1re as indicated at A and B in Fig. 2. By mechanism to be described, the clips are located at A and B, respectively, in the ath of movement of the forming bars 34 wln e resting upon stationary blocks 64 and 65 between which is located a horizontally reciprocating block 66. The blocks 64 and 65 are retained within a channel 67 provided by the base block 38 by dowel pins 68 and 69 respectively,

which .pass through holes 70 and 71 respec-' tively, provided in the base block 38 as shown in Figs. 16 and 17 The block 65 's provided with a groove 72 for receiving t e reduced end 73 of a screw 74 threaded through a tap hole 75 in the baseblock 38 as shown in Figs. 16 and 17. When the punch press head 27 moves downwardly, the cam bars 31 carried thereby cause the forming bars 34 to move from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7 in order to cause their concave-cylindrical forming surfaces 34a to engage the loops of the terminal clips A and B and move them from the position shown in Fig. 6 and bend them around the wire 200 as shown in Fig. .7.

Means for feeding clips against the wire Before the clips A and Bare moved with the wire into the position A and B for operation upon them by the attaching mechamsm previously described, the clips are first fed by hand into positions A and 5 against the wire as shown in Fig. 4. A table which is attached to the base block 38 by screws 81 is provided with an opening 82 for receiving the terminal clip A which rests upon the upper surface of the base block 38. The clip A is placed within the opening 82 so that the loop-of the clip will face the wire 200. The clip is moved into the position A by a slide 83 actuated by handle 84 attached to theslide by means including a screw 85 which passes through a slot 86 in the table 80. The slide 83 isnormally maintained in retracted position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 by a spring 87 attached at one end to a stud 88 threadedly connected with the table 80 and at the other end with a stud 89 integral with the screw 85. Similarly, theclip B is placed in an opening 92 in' the table 80, and while resting upon the base block 38 it is moved manually by a feed slide 93 into position B with its loop embracing the wire 200 while it rests upon the reciprocating block 66. The slide 93 is actuated. by a knob 94 and is retained'in retracted position by a spring 97 attached atone end to a stud 98 connected with the table 80 and at the other end to a' stud 99 which forms the 'head of a screw which connects the slide 93 with the knob 94.

The wire 200 from which the pieces C are cut is unwound from a supply reel (not shown) and passes around a grooved pulley 100 mounted upon "a bracket 101 attached by screws 102 to the base block 38, said screws being threaded into tap holes in the block 38 shown in Figs. 15, 16 and 17. The pulley 100 is engaged by a resilient spring member 103 which puts a friction dra on the pulley to prevent overtravel thereo when the wire is fed into the machine. Screws 105 attach to the table 80 a resilient leafspring member 106, the free end 107 of which engages the wire 200 to maintain it in engagement with the upper surface of the feed block 66.

Meanejor feeding the unattached clips locate against the wire to the clip attaching mechanism The clips are moved from unattached positions A and B shown in F ig. 4 to positions A and B directly under the forming B to positions A and B" takes place before the forming slides 34 en-' Ill operated upon by the forming slides as.

shown in Fig. 7.

.Means or feeding the wire and clips attached t ereto t the wire cutting device After the clips have been attached to the wire 200 while they are in the positions A ing the movement of the block 66 from the and B the wire and .clips are caused to move toward the left by a part connected with the feed block 66. This part comprises a finger 111 pivotally connected with the block 66 by a pin 112 and maintained normally in the position shown-in Figs. 8 and 9. by a leaf spring member 113 attached to the block 66. The finger 111 carries a hard metal tip or wear piece 114 secured by a pin 115 to the fingerlll'. The tip'114 has a' groove 116 for receiving the wire 200.- During the return of the punch press head 27 to upper position in which the pressis caused to stop automatically by the use of a conventional type throw-out clutch (not shown), the feed block 66 moves from the position shown in Fig. 9 toward the right first into the position 66a shown in Fig. 8 in dot and dash lines and then toward the left a short distance into the full line position 66 shown in Fig. 8. During the movement of the block 66 toward the right the beveled edges 117 of the tip 114 are engaged by the clips A and B successively which cause the finger 111 to move downwardly so'that the tip 114 may ride along the under sides of the clips and then finally spring into the position 114a due to the action of the spring 113 upon the finger 111. Durdot and dash line position 66a tothe full line position shown in Fig. 8 the tip 114 will move from the position 114a toward the left and will engage the clip B and will move the clips A and B from the positions A and B shown in Fig. 9 to the positions A and B shown in Fig. 8. As stated before the machine comes to rest automatically with the parts as shown in Fig. 8. Before starting the machine other ,clips are placed in the positions A and B on the left hand side of the lug 110 as shown in Fig. 8. By the time the cross head 27 has moved part way downwardly in a succeeding cycle of opera tion, the feed block 66 will have been moved from theposition shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9 in order to carry clips which were previously in positions A and B into the positions A and B fand clips 7 which were in the positions A. and B into the positions such that thewire 20,0 maybe severed between the clips A and B. j Means for severing the wire, between contzguo'ue chips The wire 200 is severed between contiguous clips A and B by operating shearbladesim eluding the blade 29 and a hard metal blade 120 .attached by suitable screws threaded into tap holes 121 in the block 38 as shown in F gs. 15, 16 and 17. By the time that the forming bars 34 have attached clips located at A and 7 B to the wire 200 the clip A located beneath the blade 29 will have been moved by it into the position A while the clip B remains upon the'shear blade 120 in the position B as shown in Fig. 9. During the movement of '75 the clip A into the position A bythe downward movement of the shear blade 29 which is provided with a notch 122 embracing the coiled portion of the clip A, the wire is severed between the clips A and B so as to provide a piece of wire C having one end attached to a clip A and the other to a clip B shown in the position B in Fig.9, the clip B having been moved from the position B*- which it previously occupied to the position B during the preceding feeding operation just described.

During downward movement of the shear blade 29 the clip at A is pressed by the blade against a pressure padl30 urged upwardly by springs 131 which surround screws 132 which are attached to the block 130. The block 38 is provided with holes 133 for receivingthe screws 132 with recesses 134 for receiving the springs 131 and with recesses 135for receivingthe heads of the screws 132. The screw heads engage shoulders 136 which limit upward movement of thepad 130 into the position shown in Fig. 8. The pad 130 slides between the shear block 120 and a guide block 140 attached by screws 141 to the base block 38 and is provided with an inclined surface 142 which is located slightly below the inclined surface 138 of the pad 130. When, after a shearing operation, the blade 29 recedes from the work, the springs 131 are quickly released to move the pad from the position shown inFig. 9 to that shown in Fig.8 whereupon the completed connector is given agaquick upward movement causing it to slide asily down the inclined surface 142 into a suitable receptacle.

In order that the work will not move toward the right from the position shown "in Fig. 9 while the feed block 66 is moving toward the right, a spring pressed plunger 'is located in a recess 151 provided by the block 64 and urged by a spring152 into I a position just'to the right of the clip in the position B. This plunger or button 150 will yieldsufiicieritly to. permit the clip to pass";

over itso that it may occupy the position B just to the left of the button. Butthe re- 'sistance ofi'ered'by the spring 152 is suflicient to hold the button 150 in a position for preventing movement of the clip B toward the r1 e ecti've, itis necessary that the clip-B beheld down upon ,the block120. This is ac complished by a guide block- 153 secured by ht. In order that the button 150 may be I a screw 154 threaded into a hole 155 provided 7 1n the base block 38 as shown in Figs. 15.

tapped into the base block 38 as shown in.

10 Figs. and 16. These blocks 153 and 156 are provided with notches corresponding in contour with notches 160-and 161 provided respectively in the block 36 as shown in Figs.

13 and 14 and in the retainer plate 41 as 15 shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The notches in these parts provide clearance for free movement of the work in a horizontal direction while tending to confine the work upon the base block 38 or upon the feed block 66. So far as guiding and retaining the work is concerned the blocks 153 and 156 might have been joined together but-it has been found convenient to leave the space 170 between them in order to provide for the application of-a tool which mifght-be used to dislodge the work in case 0 clogging.

As previously explained, it isnecessary that the work be fed into position for operation by the clip attaching means and the wire shearing means a substantially long period of time before the press head 27 reaches its lowermost position. Therefore, the operating mechanism between the main shaft 22 of .the press and the feed block 66 includes a :5 lost motion connection and also a resilient connection which permits of locating the feed finger 111 againstthe shear block 120 shown in Fig. 9 with yielding pressure. The main shaft 22 carries a crank disc 180 hav- 4o ing a cross slot 181 for receiving the head of a crank pin 182 which may be connected by conventional means (not shown) in the desired adjusted position with the crank disc. The pin 182 is pivotally connected with. a block 183 threadedly connected with a rod 184 in turn threadedlymonnected with the tubular end 185 of a bar 186 which -is,provided with a slot 187 for receiving a block 188 attached to a stem- 189 extending into the b0 tubular member 185. A spring 190 coiled around the stem 189 yieldingly urges the block 188 against a pin 191 also received by the slot 187. The pin 191 is connected with a lever 192 attached to a shaft 193 which is attached to a lever 194 which is pivotally connected at 195 with a link 196 which is pivotally connected at 197 with the feed block '66. The feed block operating mechanism isso constructed and arranged that during about 90 degrees of rotation of the main shaft in a clockwise direction from normal position the feed block will be moved from the position6'6 in full lines in Fig. 8't0 the position shown in Fig. 9. Further movement of the shaft 22 will cause the cross head 27 to complete its downward movement while the work is maintained in the correct position by the feed block 66.. 1

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood'that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow. What is claimed is as follows:

1. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for feeding a clip against a flexible wire, means for fastening the clip to the wire, and means for cutting off a piece of the wire with the clip attached.

2. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for feeding'a Wire, means for feeding a terminal clip against the-wire, means for fastening the clip to the wire, and means for cut- 85. ting ofl a piece of the wirewith the clip attached.

3. .Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for feeding a terminal clip against a Wire, means for supporting said clip: in that position, means spaced from the supporting meansfor fastening a clip ,to the wire,jmeans spaced from the fastening means for cutting oif'a piece of wire with a clip attached, andjmeans I fasteninga clip to the wire, means spaced from the fastening means for cutting oft'a piece of wire with a clip attached, and means 1 or feeding the wire and attached clip to the a cutting means and for feeding the 'unattached clip to thefastening means, said feeding' means including a member engageable 0" with a clip attached to the wire.

5. Apparatus for making "electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for supporting a terminal clip when placed loosely against a wire, means spaced from the sup- 1 porting, means for fastening a clip to the wire, means spaced from the fastening means for cutting off a piece of Wire Witha clip attached, and an oscillating-member carrying a part engageable with a clip' attached to the wire and carrying apart engageable with a clip placed loosely against the wire, said member being movable toward the cutting means for the purpose of feeding the wire with the attached clip to-the cutting means and for moving fastening means.

6. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, 'means'for I fastening a terminal clip to the wire and com the unattached clip to the 7. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for fastening a terminal clip to the wire and comprising a forming member movable transversely with respect to the wire, a cam for actuating the forming member, means for cuttiug'ofl a piece of the wire with the clip attached and including a shear blade, a vertically movable reciprocating member for supporting the shear blade and cam, and a horizontally movable member having a part for engaging a clip attached to the wire in order to feed the wire with a clip attached to the cutting means. v

8. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for supporting a terminal clip when placed loosely against a wire, means spaced from the supporting means for fastening a clip to the wire and comprising a forming member movable transversely with respect to, the wire, a cam for actuating the forming member, means spaced from the fastening means for cutting off a piece of wire with a clip attached and including a shear blade, a common reciprocating member for supporting the shear blade and cam, and means for feeding the wire and attached clip to the cutting means and for feeding the unattached clip to the fastening means.

9. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for supporting a terminal clip when placed loosely against a wire, means spaced from the supporting means for fastening a cli to the'wire and comprising a forming mem r-movable transversely with respect to the wire, a' cam for actuating the forming member, means spaced from the fastening means for cutting off a piece of wire with a clip attached and including a shear blade, a vertically movable reciprocating member for sup orting the the shear blade-and cam, and a orizontally movable member. having a part for engaging a clip attached to the wire in order to feed and means for cutting the wire between con- 1 tiguous clips.

12. Apparatus for makin electrical connecters comprising in com ination, means for feeding two clips against the wire in conti uous relation, means for fastening the clips to the wire, and means for cutting the wire between contiguous clips.

13. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for supporting two terminal clips in contiguous relation against a wire, means spaced from the supporting means for fastening the clips to the wire, means spaced from the fastening means for cutting the wire between contiguous clips, and means for feeding the wire and attached clips to the cutting means and forfeeding the unattached clips to the fastenlng means.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 in which the feeding means includes a member engageable with a clip attached to the wire.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13 in which the feeding means includes an oscillating member carrying a part engageable with a clip attached to the wire, and carrying a part engageable with that unattached.

clip remotest from the fastening means, said oscillating member being movable toward the cutting means for the purpose of feeding the wire with clips attached relative thereto and for moving the unattached clips to the fastenmg means.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my signature.

Lona A. POOLE.

the wire with a clip attached to the cutting means, and having a part engageable with an unattached clip placed adjacent the wire for feeding said unattached clip to the fastening means.

10. Apparatus for making electrical connecters comprising in combination, means for feeding two clips against the wire, means for fastening the clips to the wire in contiguous relation, means for feeding the wire with 65 clips attached relative to a cutting means, 

